🇨🇦 Permanent residence

What changed

Canada and Manitoba will invest C$1.3 million. This money is for a new project. The project will help Manitoba's French-speaking population grow. It will use promotions, digital tools, specific research, and better ways to recognise skills. This should make immigration easier for French-speaking and bilingual people. These people must meet job market needs. The Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot (FMCSP) will also continue. It is extended for one more year, until August 2027.

What changed

Canada will speed up permanent residence for up to 33,000 workers already in Canada. This is part of a special effort called the In-Canada Workers Initiative. These workers will get permanent residence in 2026 and 2027. Canada announced this plan in Budget 2025. This plan gives priority to people who already have a work permit and have applied for permanent residence. To be part of this plan, workers must have lived in smaller Canadian communities for two years or more. They must also have applied through specific regional or job-focused immigration programmes. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) plans to give permanent residence to at least 20,000 workers in 2026. The rest will get it in 2027.

What changed

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said that in 2026, category-based selection for Express Entry will focus more on jobs in healthcare, skilled trades, and education. There will be fewer general draws.